The present invention relates generally to an amusement device having an electronic game and method of playing an electronic game, and more particularly, to an amusement device having an electronic game and method of playing an electronic game with a prize awarding system.
Amusement devices having electronic card games such as blackjack and poker variation card games for computers and touchscreen or other types of amusement devices are generally well known in the art. Amusement devices, such as game machines, which allow a user to select games from a video display are well known in the art such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,787 (Itkis); U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,717 (Houriet, Jr. et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,799 (Houriet, Jr. et al.), the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein, each of which shows a touchscreen display for making a game selection from a menu of games. Such game machines or amusement devices typically operate upon input of currency (i.e., coin, token, paper money, credit/debit cards and the like) and are installed in bars, restaurants, airports, shopping malls, video arcades and the like. The game choices may include card games, sports games, games of skill, games of chance, action games, trivia games and the like.
Electronic games such as solitaire, poker, blackjack, pool, and the like for computers and touchscreen or other types of amusement devices are generally well known in the art. Likewise, amusement devices that award prizes or payouts, such as video poker or trivia, are also known in the art. Such prior art prize awarding games are based either on the random odds of the particular deal from a deck of electronic cards or based upon the speed with which a user answers trivia questions correctly. Since it is always possible to get a question right in trivia, such amusement devices control the odds by how much time the player takes to answer the question as opposed to any skill with making particular moves.
New variations of games which are more fast-paced and require the player to strategize in order to win prizes are currently sought after. However, some regulatory agencies (national, state or local) have “gaming” regulations which require that electronic games which award prizes must by capable of awarding a prize or payout for every play or game.
Since most card games (e.g., poker, solitaire and blackjack) and strategy games (e.g., MahJongg) have an apparent “random deal,” the scoring potential may be different for each game play scenario (i.e., each deal of cards or layout of game pieces on a playing area). Thus, such card games and strategy games make it more difficult to control odds and/or guarantee that there is at least one set of moves/actions that will result in winning the maximum prize or payout on a given play scenario (i.e., win the jackpot). Some deals of card games result in poor hands (i.e., game play scenarios) that are simply not winnable no matter what choices the player makes during game play.
It is desirable to provide an amusement device having an electronic game and method of playing an electronic game with a prize awarding system that is at least partially based upon player skill. Further, it is desirable to provide an amusement device configured to award prizes which determines the requisite moves for winning a particular play scenario, such as a particular deal of cards or a particular layout of game pieces. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide an amusement device configured to award prizes for each game play based upon a minimum determinable collection of moves or plays for a given play scenario.